What is Open Data?

Open Data is content that is licensed in a manner that provides users with the right to make more kinds of uses than those normally permitted under the law, at no cost to the user.

The primary permissions or usage rights that open content is concerned with are expressed in the "4Rs Framework:"

Reuse - the right to reuse the content in its unaltered / verbatim form (e.g., make a backup copy of the content)

Revise - the right to adapt, adjust, modify, or alter the content itself (e.g., translate the content into another language)

Remix - the right to combine the original or revised content with other content to create something new (e.g., incorporate the content into a mashup)

Redistribute - the right to share copies of the original content, your revisions, or your remixes with others (e.g., give a copy of the content to a friend)

What Constitutes Open Data?

Open Data includes any project that releases information or images into the public domain. This includes everything from licensing information under Creative Commons to uploading metadata to a linked data platform like GitHub.